Birthday girl!

And then she was four.

FOUR! That's only months away from FIVE, and that means school! And away from me for hours, every day! Say it ain't so.

Cora was giggly happy when I greeted her with "Happy Birthday." The happiness changed to tearful confusion, though, as she struggled to understand how she can have a birthday, and be FOUR, and not have her friends celebrate with her on the same day. It took a great deal of explaining, with the help of the calendar, to help her understand that her party is coming soon, but not today.

Cora chose an egg and soldiers for breakfast, a treat since I don't normally go fancier than oatmeal, yogurt or cereal during the week.

Then, after Violet's nap, we surprised Cora with a trip to Scooter's Jungle. Daddy even joined us, since it's so close to his work and open play falls close enough to his lunch break.

Cora had a great time, of course! Lots of sliding, zip lining, jumping, even some air hockey. Violet had a great time too.

After Scooter's, we headed over to Chick-Fil-A for lunch - Cora's pick, again. Two playgrounds in one day!

Then it was home for lunch and nap.

When she woke up, another surprise - a new bike!

Not a regular bike with training wheels, but a balance bike, also called a running bike.

We hadn't heard of these until my friend Trahnel suggested it, after I mentioned here that we were thinking of getting Cora a bike for her birthday. Trahnel's husband is something of an expert on the subject, and their son was riding a regular bike without training wheels by age 3 after starting on a balance bike.

We looked at a lot online, and decided on the Kazam, because it looks sturdy, stylish, and, well, cool!

Cora was thrilled at first, and then she noticed the lack of training wheels (before she noticed the lack of pedals!) and wasn't so sure. But after a few times up and down the paseo, she was really excited about her new bike. We'll report back on her progress!

Then it was time for Skipper Club, where Cora was called up on stage where all the children and parents sang happy birthday to her.
Going to bed tonight, Cora said she didn't think she was big enough to be four. Stace assured her that she was, that she really is four years old.

We are so proud of the little lady you are becoming, with your leadership skills and imagination. Your teachers and even random parents at the park comment on them.

Happy Birthday, our darling Cora Rose. We love you!